Counter Culture has been purchasing coffees from farmers in the Gedeo zone of Ethiopia since 2011. Back then, the Ethiopian coffee export policy required that most coffees be blended and sold by regional grade; only cooperatives or large estates were allowed to directly market their coffees and thus provide specific traceability to buyers. Many of these cooperatives took this one step further by facilitating the sale of single-farmer microlots from their members. During that time, Counter Culture purchased coffees from both the cooperatives and single farmers in and around Yirgacheffe and Kochere counties exporting their coffee through cooperatives.
In 2017, the Ethiopian government implemented a new policy which made it possible for smallholder coffee farmers to directly market their coffees. However, along with this opportunity came a lot of red tape. Farmers needed to undergo documentation-heavy processes to obtain export licenses, negotiate and arrange logistics like transportation and milling, all the while focusing on producing high-quality coffee and finding interested buyers. Despite all the challenges, a group of farmers—centered around a group who had previously sold to Counter Culture through the cooperative union—really wanted to make it happen and, in 2018, Counter Culture and the farmers hired the G Broad exporting company to coordinate the process.
The group named themselves Jabanto, which means “stronger together” translated from Gedeofa, the official language of the Gedeo people. As of this year, Jabanto has grown to over 80 members. These farmers harvest their coffees independently, but work together to deal with all business matters regarding export. Jabanto’s coffees appear in various products on our menu, but the coffees in this selection are our highest-scoring and best-tasting lots.
